[Jason Page]

When Steve Jobs re-vitalized Apple, the slogan that brought new market insight into the mainstream was "Think Different."

Today I find that element lives with BlackBerry, to Be Different meanwhile the focus in R&D is on the slew of security methods to insure privacy.

BlackBerry was one of the first companies to introduce a smart phone device, starting out with a beeper device that also sends and receives email in 1999.

The operating system that had been maintained for almost 15 years (BBOS) had not only the security and privacy emphasize, however also emphasis was data use conservation and the programs developed for the platform where nice and tighty with a fully functional Facebook App for example that was less than 4mb, many apps less than 1mb.

This is a novelty and art lost to the bloat demands of today, where the resources available allow for such bloat to flourish.

Also with BlackBerry Internet Service, which was encrypted at both ends, also compressed the data bringing data conservation to a new level. I remember using 200mb of data per month, consumed for doing the same on Android clocking at 20gb/mo. That is 1/100th data consumption comparison between the Android platform and BBOS.

Also when Touchscreens became the craze, it seems now that having a touchscreen is a primary market definition of a smart phone.

So the only difference that makes it "think different" maybe the keyboard and emphasis on security and privacy, which is a notable focus.

Still the "think different" is elusive to market demands. Apple defined itself taking the tech where NeXTStep/Cube left off when Steve came aboard. Apple defined the market with it's consumers.

BlackBerry is in a position of providing technology to both consumer base as well as commercial base, as it's focus.

We can learn from history with IBM OS/2 when Microsoft split with IBM how marketing decisions put a very decent OS in market suicide when at the time the Personal Computer, consumer base, was not well recognized or recognized a bit too late with Microsoft selling their Windows 3.0 OS "DOS Shell" to the consumer base and making a big win in profits. While it took Microsoft over ten years to get something almost as capable as OS/2, OS/2 itself was left to the dust of ATM machines, banking institutions and a few companies today such as WhirlPool and the United States Postal Service that still use OS/2.

Markets with phones today have reached a level of marketwise homogenization where the differences between them is very little.

I would challenge BlackBerry a market experiment....just release one model of the Bold 9900 with updated networking capability, an ability to disable the touch screen and include in it not to require the now defunct BIS service in order for internet access. Make the battery removable! The entire phrase "Battery Pull" is not even known anymore, yet is a very useful feature for many reasons I won't go into.

I think this can be done without billions in R&D. BlackBerry has access to the source code, designs and rehiring just one person with the qualifications to make this a reality maybe all that is needed.

This could start out as a limited release, a pilot of sorts to test market demand for such a device, a smart phone the size of your palm that does not rely on touch that is also data conservative, excellent reception, fall retardant and let the BBworld development get revitalized.

Maybe RIM apps can be updated to work such as Facebook app, Twitter and a few others, just to bridge some market demands.

The new slogan maybe "Less is More" do more with 128mb of memory on a BlackBerry than you can do with 16GB of memory on an Android: Less is More, Re-introducing the BlackBerry Bold 9900M ('M' for modern.)

[Chuck Finley69]

When Steve Jobs re-vitalized Apple, the slogan that brought new market insight into the mainstream was "Think Different."

Today I find that element lives with BlackBerry, to Be Different meanwhile the focus in R&D is on the slew of security methods to insure privacy.

BlackBerry was one of the first companies to introduce a smart phone device, starting out with a beeper device that also sends and receives email in 1999.

The operating system that had been maintained for almost 15 years (BBOS) had not only the security and privacy emphasize, however also emphasis was data use conservation and the programs developed for the platform where nice and tighty with a fully functional Facebook App for example that was less than 4mb, many apps less than 1mb.

This is a novelty and art lost to the bloat demands of today, where the resources available allow for such bloat to flourish.

Also with BlackBerry Internet Service, which was encrypted at both ends, also compressed the data bringing data conservation to a new level. I remember using 200mb of data per month, consumed for doing the same on Android clocking at 20gb/mo. That is 1/100th data consumption comparison between the Android platform and BBOS.

Also when Touchscreens became the craze, it seems now that having a touchscreen is a primary market definition of a smart phone.

So the only difference that makes it "think different" maybe the keyboard and emphasis on security and privacy, which is a notable focus.

Still the "think different" is elusive to market demands. Apple defined itself taking the tech where NeXTStep/Cube left off when Steve came aboard. Apple defined the market with it's consumers.

BlackBerry is in a position of providing technology to both consumer base as well as commercial base, as it's focus.

We can learn from history with IBM OS/2 when Microsoft split with IBM how marketing decisions put a very decent OS in market suicide when at the time the Personal Computer, consumer base, was not well recognized or recognized a bit too late with Microsoft selling their Windows 3.0 OS "DOS Shell" to the consumer base and making a big win in profits. While it took Microsoft over ten years to get something almost as capable as OS/2, OS/2 itself was left to the dust of ATM machines, banking institutions and a few companies today such as WhirlPool and the United States Postal Service that still use OS/2.

Markets with phones today have reached a level of marketwise homogenization where the differences between them is very little.

I would challenge BlackBerry a market experiment....just release one model of the Bold 9900 with updated networking capability, an ability to disable the touch screen and include in it not to require the now defunct BIS service in order for internet access. Make the battery removable! The entire phrase "Battery Pull" is not even known anymore, yet is a very useful feature for many reasons I won't go into.

I think this can be done without billions in R&D. BlackBerry has access to the source code, designs and rehiring just one person with the qualifications to make this a reality maybe all that is needed.

This could start out as a limited release, a pilot of sorts to test market demand for such a device, a smart phone the size of your palm that does not rely on touch that is also data conservative, excellent reception, fall retardant and let the BBworld development get revitalized.

Maybe RIM apps can be updated to work such as Facebook app, Twitter and a few others, just to bridge some market demands.

BlackBerry exited hardware and BlackBerry Mobile licenses only BBAndroid and has not shown any interest licensing BB10 since that would be huge cash drain.

[Jason Page]

Well, even BB10 was a bloated venture. I'm referring to the classic BBOS, with version 7 it's last release.

[Bla1ze]

Well, even BB10 was a bloated venture. I'm referring to the classic BBOS, with version 7 it's last release.

That would be even worse than reviving BlackBerry 10. At least BlackBerry 10 has a modern core and a modern app system. Anything based on BBOS would be like bailing out a sinking ship with a teaspoon.

[conite]

Well, even BB10 was a bloated venture. I'm referring to the classic BBOS, with version 7 it's last release.

BlackBerry has long exited the mobile phone space. The ONLY thing that ever provided real profit in that area was BIS - so much so, that it hid the monumental hardware losses during the BBOS years. The actual hardware/OS was a huge loss-leader.

[Troy Tiscareno]

Also with BlackBerry Internet Service, which was encrypted at both ends, also compressed the data bringing data conservation to a new level. I remember using 200mb of data per month, consumed for doing the same on Android clocking at 20gb/mo.

BlackBerry Internet Service was NOT encrypted at either end. It was compressed, but not encrypted, and the compression was really done due to the limits of 2G data network technology that existed when BB was getting started. In those early days, a far greater percentage of what was transferred over the Internet was data that wasn't already compressed, and was thus easily compressible. Today, over 90% of all data moved over the Internet is pre-compressed - mostly video and audio, which is almost always compressed, along with photos, which, again, are almost always compressed. And even major email services have dedicated tunnels to pass mail between them in a compressed, encrypted connection (say, Gmail to Outlook.com), to minimize data usage and increase security. None of that existed in the early 2000s during BB's heyday.

Those are among BB's many problems: its (excellent for the day) solutions are largely unnecessary today because overall Internet security has increased immensely, and because some of them, such as BIS compression, actually slow modern, fast, 4G connections because the servers can't keep up.

As others have stated, BB put the whole smartphone market in its rearview mirror, with only a small team still working on BB's flavor of Android so as to generate some licensing revenue from the name. There is zero interest at BB Ltd in getting back in the smartphone game themselves.

The world changed, and BB couldn't keep pace with those changes - as they've officially admitted publicly in a press release - and thus they bowed out of that business and are focusing on other lines of business.

[bobshine]

Oh gosh OP... I’ll never let you manage my money!

It’s like bringing back the typewriter. Yeah some true nostalgics might buy it... But bringing back the typewriter at least has its merits: “lower” cost and maybe high selling price.

If you bring back the Bold, it would cost billions just to rewrite BBOS to work with modern processor. You know how complex that is???

And how can it be data conservative? Most traffic are already encrypted... It’s 2018!

[Bbnivende]

When Steve Jobs re-vitalized Apple, the slogan that brought new market insight into the mainstream was "Think Different."

Today I find that element lives with BlackBerry, to Be Different meanwhile the focus in R&D is on the slew of security methods to insure privacy.

BlackBerry was one of the first companies to introduce a smart phone device, starting out with a beeper device that also sends and receives email in 1999.

The operating system that had been maintained for almost 15 years (BBOS) had not only the security and privacy emphasize, however also emphasis was data use conservation and the programs developed for the platform where nice and tighty with a fully functional Facebook App for example that was less than 4mb, many apps less than 1mb.

This is a novelty and art lost to the bloat demands of today, where the resources available allow for such bloat to flourish.

Also with BlackBerry Internet Service, which was encrypted at both ends, also compressed the data bringing data conservation to a new level. I remember using 200mb of data per month, consumed for doing the same on Android clocking at 20gb/mo. That is 1/100th data consumption comparison between the Android platform and BBOS.

Also when Touchscreens became the craze, it seems now that having a touchscreen is a primary market definition of a smart phone.

So the only difference that makes it "think different" maybe the keyboard and emphasis on security and privacy, which is a notable focus.

Still the "think different" is elusive to market demands. Apple defined itself taking the tech where NeXTStep/Cube left off when Steve came aboard. Apple defined the market with it's consumers.

BlackBerry is in a position of providing technology to both consumer base as well as commercial base, as it's focus.

We can learn from history with IBM OS/2 when Microsoft split with IBM how marketing decisions put a very decent OS in market suicide when at the time the Personal Computer, consumer base, was not well recognized or recognized a bit too late with Microsoft selling their Windows 3.0 OS "DOS Shell" to the consumer base and making a big win in profits. While it took Microsoft over ten years to get something almost as capable as OS/2, OS/2 itself was left to the dust of ATM machines, banking institutions and a few companies today such as WhirlPool and the United States Postal Service that still use OS/2.

Markets with phones today have reached a level of marketwise homogenization where the differences between them is very little.

I would challenge BlackBerry a market experiment....just release one model of the Bold 9900 with updated networking capability, an ability to disable the touch screen and include in it not to require the now defunct BIS service in order for internet access. Make the battery removable! The entire phrase "Battery Pull" is not even known anymore, yet is a very useful feature for many reasons I won't go into.

I think this can be done without billions in R&D. BlackBerry has access to the source code, designs and rehiring just one person with the qualifications to make this a reality maybe all that is needed.

This could start out as a limited release, a pilot of sorts to test market demand for such a device, a smart phone the size of your palm that does not rely on touch that is also data conservative, excellent reception, fall retardant and let the BBworld development get revitalized.

Maybe RIM apps can be updated to work such as Facebook app, Twitter and a few others, just to bridge some market demands.

The new slogan maybe "Less is More" do more with 128mb of memory on a BlackBerry than you can do with 16GB of memory on an Android: Less is More, Re-introducing the BlackBerry Bold 9900M ('M' for modern.)

I liked my 9900 at the time but BBOS was terrible. The only advantage of BBOS was there were all these tricks and shortcuts that only prolific users could appreciate.

I gave up my 9900 when even simple tasks like receiving a text with a picture attachment were difficult and battery pulls were a daily occurrence.

Yes , there maybe a market for a BlackBerry communicator but thankfully BBOS is truly dead.

[Platinum_2]

The only thing that made BBOS truly outstanding was that prior to 2007 it was the only real game in town and light years ahead of anything else. After the launch of the iPhone, however, BBOS became outdated and virtually obsolete as the consumer market quickly shifted to the more modern and robust platform.

[Chuck Finley69]

The only thing that made BBOS truly outstanding was that prior to 2007 it was the only real game in town and light years ahead of anything else. After the launch of the iPhone, however, BBOS became outdated and virtually obsolete as the consumer market quickly shifted to the more modern and robust platform.

iPhone created the smartphone consumer market. Amazingly, people that didn’t want to pay the price for early Android/IOS hardware bought cheap BBOS devices. LOL

[app_Developer]

For most traffic today BIS would actually slow down access (increased latency) with no real reduction in bandwidth. The world has changed and will continue to do so.

[Bbnivende]

iPhone created the smartphone consumer market. Amazingly, people that didn’t want to pay the price for early Android/IOS hardware bought cheap BBOS devices. LOL

I think the Curve was mainly popular in the UK, Indonesia and Nigeria. In 2011 the 9900 price was similar to the iPhone. Unfortunately, BlackBerry was never able to make a successful all touch phone. BBOS was well past it’s best before date in 2011. The great BlackBerry server crash was probably the last straw.

[idssteve]

9900 was far, far, from a "cheap" phone. It was a communications productivity masterpiece that BB never followed up with a competent upgrade. Despite enjoying status as, arguably, BB's final "success story". Lol.

My personal contention remains that BB "was never able to make a successful all touch phone" simply because no "all touch" device has, to date, successfully challenged 9900 at its supremely collaborative communications proficiency. Why buy a BB slab when so many existing slab designs do what slabs do so well?? NONE of them do what Bold did so well. Even BB slabs. Imo.

Apple stepped around RIM's dominance by inventing a new market. A consumer focused market. BB's response was to lose focus on BB's core competencies in desperate effort to cash in on some of Apple's success. (And placate VZW... Lol. ) Can't blame them for trying but... Here I am, typing this on a 7 year old 9930 that's doomed for execution by VZW's cdma sunset. Tragically resigned to enduring the rest of my life communicating at 50% potential over mediocre "consumer grade" devices. So many consumers will never know what they've never known. Go figure... Lol.

[the_boon]

9900 was far, far, from a "cheap" phone. It was a communications productivity masterpiece that BB never followed up with a competent upgrade. Despite enjoying status as, arguably, BB's final "success story". Lol.

My personal contention remains that BB "was never able to make a successful all touch phone" simply because no "all touch" device has, to date, successfully challenged 9900 at its supremely collaborative communications proficiency. Why buy a BB slab when so many existing slab designs do what slabs do so well?? NONE of them do what Bold did so well. Even BB slabs. Imo.

Apple stepped around RIM's dominance by inventing a new market. A consumer focused market. BB's response was to lose focus on BB's core competencies in desperate effort to cash in on some of Apple's success. (And placate VZW... Lol. ) Can't blame them for trying but... Here I am, typing this on a 7 year old 9930 that's doomed for execution by VZW's cdma sunset. Tragically resigned to enduring the rest of my life communicating at 50% potential over mediocre "consumer grade" devices. So many consumers will never know what they've never known. Go figure... Lol.

Isn't a KEY2 LE a much better follow up to your 9930 than those run of the mill slabs we see everywhere ?

I know you like one-handed typing efficiency, and while the LE (which I'm typing this on now) is no 9930, it sure beats both the KEYone and KEY2 at one handed typing, mostly due to the lighter weight and better distribution of weight, which the KEYone sucked at in comparison

[Troy Tiscareno]

Apple stepped around RIM's dominance by inventing a new market. A consumer focused market. BB's response was to lose focus on BB's core competencies in desperate effort to cash in on some of Apple's success.

The truth is that BBOS was already falling in volume, even in the business market, by 2009. The separate "corporate market" largely faded away into the consumer market between 2009-2012. Not gone completely by then, just too small to support a whole separate platform, especially when numbers are shrinking instead of growing.

No one is disagreeing that BBOS didn't do certain things better than anything else - it's just that people (and companies) simply changed their buying priorities, and it really only matters what they're willing to spend money on.

Apple and Google shrunk the corporate-specific market into irrelevancy, and that was all she wrote.

[Bbnivende]

The truth is that BBOS was already falling in volume, even in the business market, by 2009. The separate "corporate market" largely faded away into the consumer market between 2009-2012. Not gone completely by then, just too small to support a whole separate platform, especially when numbers are shrinking instead of growing.

No one is disagreeing that BBOS didn't do certain things better than anything else - it's just that people (and companies) simply changed their buying priorities, and it really only matters what they're willing to spend money on.

Apple and Google shrunk the corporate-specific market into irrelevancy, and that was all she wrote.

TCL didn’t get the memo. They thought they were buying a going concern . BlackBerry - the business phone.